This invention relates to hand held ratchet wrenches and more particularly to a wrench of this type in which the direction of turning can be reversed simply and readily by one hand without necessitating removal of the wrench from the work or removal of the hand from the normal torque applying position.
Reversible ratchet wrenches whether of the type using a socket member to rotate and torque a workpiece or having gripping teeth to rotate and torque a workpiece without the imposition of a socket member are notoriously well known. These wrenches include a ratchet wheel and pawl members which engage the teeth of the wheel to prevent rotation in one direction selectively and alternately permit rotation in the other direction. In the known reversible ratchet wrenches the means for selectively engaging and disengaging the pawls require the use of two hands, a repositioning of the wrench holding hand or at best use of the palm or an unnatural bending of the wrench holding hand to manipulate the direction selector. A common location for the selector is axially above the wheel which requires the use of the second hand to turn the selector when the wrench is positioned on the work. It is often the case that the wrench must be positioned in an inconvenient or tightly spaced location and the operator finds that the direction selector must be repositioned. If there is insufficient room to insert the second hand, and if the work will not secure the wrench, the wrench must be removed to adjust the selector and repositioned on the work. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 743,942; 1,177,764; 2,590,387 and 2,851,914 provision is made for a selector at the end of the handle of the wrench. In the last mentioned patent a pawl selecting lever is pivotably positioned at the end of the handle while in the other aforesaid patents a rotatable knob is positioned at the end of the handle, each thereby requiring a repositioning of the hand or an unnatural bending thereof.